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Ford Taurus
The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from the 1986 to 2019 model years. Introduced in late 1985 for the 1986 model year, six generations were produced over 34 years; a brief hiatus was undertaken between 2006 and 2007. From the 1986 to 2009 model years, the Taurus was sold alongside its near-twin, the Mercury Sable; four generations of the high-performance Ford Taurus SHO were produced (1989–1999; 2010–2019). The Taurus also served as the basis for the first-ever front-wheel drive Lincoln Continental (1988–2002). The original Taurus was a milestone for Ford and the entire American automotive industry, being the first automobile at Ford designed and manufactured using the statistical process control ideas brought to Ford by W. Edwards Deming, a prominent statistician consulted by Ford to bring a "culture of quality" to the enterprise. The Taurus had an influential design that brought many new features and innovations to the marketplace.1 In the late 1990s and early 2000s, sales of the Taurus declined as it lost market share to Japanese midsize sedans and as Ford shifted resources towards developing SUVs. The Taurus was withdrawn after the 2007 model year, with production ending on October 27, 2006.2 As part of a model line revision, the Taurus and the larger Ford Crown Victoria were to be replaced with the full-size Five Hundred and mid-size Fusion sedans; the Taurus station wagon would be replaced with the Ford Freestyle wagon, branded as a crossover SUV. During the 2007 Chicago Auto Show, Ford revived the Taurus and Sable nameplates, intended as 2008 mid-cycle revisions of the Ford Five Hundred; the Freestyle was renamed the Ford Taurus X. For the 2010 model year, Ford introduced the sixth-generation Taurus, marking a more substantial model update, alongside the revival of the Taurus SHO; in 2013, the Ford Police Interceptor Sedan was introduced as a successor for its long-running Crown Victoria counterpart. From 1986 to 2007, the Taurus was a mid-size car, offering front-wheel drive. Initially built on the DN5 platform (renamed the DN101 platform in 1996 and the D186 platform in 2000), the Taurus became a full-size car in 2008, adopting the Volvo-derived D3 platform, offering front or all-wheel drive. The Taurus was produced as a four-door sedan through its entire production, with a five-door hatchback station wagon offered from 1986 to 2005. All six generations of the Taurus were assembled by Chicago Assembly.5 Prior to its 2006 closure, Atlanta Assembly also produced both the Taurus and Sable.6 From its 1985 launch to its initial withdrawal following the 2007 model year, Ford assembled 7,519,919 examples of the Taurus.7 The fifth best-selling Ford nameplate in North America, the Taurus has only been surpassed only by the F-Series, Escort, Model T, and Mustang.8910 Between 1992 and 1996, the Taurus was the best-selling car nameplate in the United States, overtaken by the current title holder in 1997, the Toyota Camry. First generation (1986–1991) Main Article: Ford Taurus (first generation) The first-generation Taurus was launched in 1985 as a 1986 model to strong fanfare and sales, replacing the slow-selling mid-size Ford LTD. (The full-size Ford LTD Crown Victoria remained as part of the Ford line up.) The release of the Ford Taurus was one of the most anticipated ever, mostly because it was a first in car design and also the start of new quality standards for Ford. At the time of the Taurus's debut, Ford had been producing mainly rear-wheel drive cars, and Chrysler and General Motors were offering more front-wheel drive vehicles up to midrange including the Chrysler K platform and A-body Chevrolet Celebrity. With the introduction of the Escort and Tempo, Ford was making a transition to front-wheel drive. The Taurus displayed a rounder shape than its contemporaries, often likened to a 'jelly bean' or 'flying potato',17 inspired by the design of the Audi 5000 and Ford's European sedan, the Ford Sierra, an updated appearance of a styling approach used in the late 1940s to early 1960s called "ponton" styling.1 Instead of a grille, the Taurus mainstreamed the smooth grille-less 'bottom breather' nose. The aerodynamic design of the Taurus made the car more fuel efficient, allowing Ford to meet more stringent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard applied by the United States government.1 The Taurus's success ultimately led to an American automobile design revolution; Chrysler and General Motors developed aerodynamic cars in order to capitalize on the Taurus's success.1 It also benefitted from sharing a similar appearance to the limited production Ford Mustang SVO introduced two years earlier in 1983. The first generation was available with either a V6 or an inline four-cylinder engine and came with either a manual (MT-5)1819 or automatic transmission. (The Taurus's twin, the Mercury Sable, has never offered a manual transmission in either of its incarnations.) Like its exterior, the Taurus's interior was ahead of its time, and many features originating from it are still used in most cars today.1 Its interior was designed to be extremely user-friendly, with all of its controls designed to be recognizable by touch, allowing drivers to operate them without taking their eyes off the road.1 For example, the switches to the power windows and power locks were designed with one half of the switch raised up, with the other half recessed, in order for its function to be identified by touch.1 To further enhance this quality, the car's dashboard has all of the controls in the central area within reach of the driver. The left side of the dash curves slightly around the driver to make controls easily accessible, as well as creating a "cockpit" feel. The interior of the Taurus was customizable to fit buyers' needs, with a large number of options and three different configurations. This means that the interior of the Taurus can be spartan or luxurious, depending on the buyer's choice of options. On models with an automatic transmission, the Taurus's interior was available in three different seating configurations.20 The interior equipment depends on model. The most basic model, the L (see below), came standard, with just an AM radio and a front cloth bench seat, while the LX, the more luxurious model, came with a greater number of features as standard equipment. The Taurus was well received by both the public and the press. It won many awards, most notably being named to the 1986 Car and Driver Ten Best List and becoming the 1986 Motor Trend Car of the Year21 Over 200,000 of the Taurus were sold during the 1986 model year and the millionth Taurus was sold during the 1989 model year.1 When production ended in 1991, more than 2,000,000 first-generation Tauruses had been sold.22 Second generation (1992–1995) Main Article : Ford Taurus (second generation) The Ford Taurus received its first redesign in late 1991 for the 1992 model year. Still based on the same chassis, every exterior body panel (with the exception of the doors) was restyled. In spite of the extensive changes, few modifications were made to the successful styling; in the marketplace, the redesign was largely released as a mid-cycle facelift.11 In terms of size, the 1992 Taurus gained several inches in length and over 200 pounds in curb weight.23 Following market demand, the new Taurus was available solely with V6 engines and automatic transmissions. The Taurus SHO made its return, with an automatic transmission option joining the manual transmission. The interior was also completely redesigned for 1992. As part of the redesign, the Ford Taurus gained a passenger-side airbag as an option, which became standard in 1993 on 1994 models, becoming the first mid-size sedan sold in the United States with standard dual airbags.11 The second generation sold just as well as the first, becoming the best-selling car in the United States, a title it would retain for as long as this generation was sold.11 When production ended in 1995, more than 1,400,000 second-generation cars had been sold.22 Third generation (1996–1999) Main Article : Ford Taurus (third generation) For the 1996 model year, Ford debuted the third generation of the Ford Taurus. Although not completely new, the chassis was heavily upgraded, becoming the DN101 generation. Alongside the Mercury Sable, the Ford Taurus shared its underpinnings with the redesigned Lincoln Continental and all-new Ford Windstar. In 1996, its starting cost was about $18,000.24 In a break from the familiar styling of the previous two generations (that chief designer Jack Telnack had likened to a "pair of slippers"),25 Ford had sought to again make the Taurus stand out for buyers of mid-size sedans, giving the vehicle a much more extensive restyling than its 1992 predecessor. Moving away from straight lines, the 1996 Taurus sought to include rounded lines, moving past the cab-forward design of the Chrysler LH sedans. Alongside the Ford Blue Oval emblem itself, the Taurus repeated the shape several places in its exterior;1126 in a controversial design element, the rear window of the Taurus was oval, as were the side windows of the Mercury Sable. To allow better differentiation between models, the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable were given separate rooflines; Taurus/Sable station wagons were fitted with the doors of Sable sedans. The interior saw a complete redesign. To simplify production, all versions of the Taurus were fitted with bucket seats; six-passenger versions were fitted with a flip-forward center seat cushion also meant for use as a center console; five-passenger versions were fitted with a floor shifter and center console.27 To improve ergonomics, radio and climate controls were centralized on an oval-shaped console on the dashboard.28 Reaction to the third-generation Ford Taurus was mixed; Ford found that customers disliked the oval-shaped exterior. For 1996, the Ford Taurus stayed the best-selling car in the United States. At the time, 51-percent of all Taurus sales for 1996 went to rental fleets, in contrast to the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, of which most sales were to private customers through retail outlets.29 In 1997, the Ford Taurus lost its best-selling status to the Toyota Camry.11 For 1996, Ford Australia imported the Ford Taurus sedan as the "Taurus Ghia" alongside its locally produced Ford Falcon EL, but imports ceased after only one year due to poor sales.30 Ford New Zealand imported both Ford Taurus sedans and station wagons from 1996 to 1998 with success alongside the RWD Australian Ford Falcon/Fairmont/Fairlane. Category:Cars Category:Commercial Vehicles Category:Discontinued Vehicles